CHAPTER 692: CHAPTER 691: PROFESSIONAL NEGATIVE REVIEWER (PART 2)

"Do you know, if this was a scoring system, in my book, your score would be—failing!"

Lei Ze said coldly.

Whoosh.

The onlookers were in an uproar, and Koga Shoji slammed his hands on the table even more furiously, glaring at Lei Ze, "Failing? What a joke! Even if you are Lin Chef, the ultimate spiciness that I’ve finally captured should earn your respect!"

"The ultimate spiciness?"

"Naive! Stupid!"

Lei Ze stood up, dropping a sentence, "Your creativity, your pairing, and the recipe framework are quite good, but they are far from the true ultimate!"

"How can you create the taste of the ultimate with such rubbish, inferior ingredients?"

He turned and walked away.

Thump.

Koga Shoji collapsed, his face deathly pale, "You mean to say that the ultimate flavor can’t be created with ordinary ingredients? So the ultimate key that I’ve captured is fake, a fraud?!"

No one answered him.

Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai both had anger in their eyes.

Many passersby looked at Lei Ze, their expressions no longer as respectful as at the beginning, some even showing doubt and contempt.

Looking for dishes at the culinary arts school festival that could compare with the menus of special-tier or Lin-tier restaurants?

That’s like going to a fast-food restaurant in search of a top-tier gourmet experience.

Describing Lei Ze’s actions as making trouble was an understatement.

The crowd whispered among themselves.

"This..."

"Lei Ze himself is a respectable chef, but did he just eat away his own principles?!"

"Right, right, the food of a student should be judged by student standards. With his Lin-tier tongue and discerning taste, of course he’d find flaws and imperfections everywhere!"

Hearing these voices, Tiqie Helinai felt her rage burning like never before.

Encountering a culinary senior who was unreasonable and shameless.

What to do?

Eriina was grinding her teeth in secret, yet felt powerless.

"This guy..." Kobayakawa Ryodan muttered resentfully, "we might as well just kick him out!"

Kick him out?

Her heartbeat sped up slightly, Eriina staggered, then shook her head. Kick out a Lin-tier chef? Considering the size of the crowd of onlookers, it wouldn’t take until tomorrow, the news would spread across the global culinary world within an hour, and by then, Far Moon would definitely be in the eye of the storm.

After all, a Lin-tier chef held that status, and no matter how despicable his conduct, his culinary skills were genuinely solid.

Lei Ze turned a deaf ear to the noises around him.

He stood at the entrance of Kogama Restaurant.

"Where to next?" he said, as if no one else was there, "I’ve been to the restaurant of the Ten Outstanding Chief in the High Platform Area, tasteless. The restaurant in the central district with the highest opening day revenue, I’ve been there too, that so-called ultimate flavor is too immature..."

The crowd quieted down.

"Hey—"

At that moment, a voice rang out, "I say, you there, with your high and mighty attitude, it’s really irritating!"

The crowd turned their heads in unison towards the source of the sound.

Hey!

At the center of attention, there was a cart filled with Chinese dishes style, and next to the cart, a student in a black hoodie waved at Lei Ze at the shop entrance, baring his teeth with a grin, "How about it, want to try my food?"

"Xingping Chuangzhen!"

Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai were shocked; they did not expect this transfer student to dare challenge a Lin Chef, and now he was actually actively soliciting customers!

Incredibly bold!

"Rustle—"

The crowd automatically parted, no longer crowding around the small cart.

Without a word, Lei Ze stopped in front of the stall, sniffing the air for a hint of hotness and the scent of pepper. His rugged face carried a playful smile, "You really are brave. Are you looking to get a bad review from me?"

"A bad review? Not satisfying the customer is a disgrace for a chef, what’s the big deal with another bad review?!"

Xingping Chuangzhen waved his hand nonchalantly.

The crowd buzzed again.

A poor review from a Lin Chef senior, and he truly didn’t mind? Observers needed to scrutinize the young man’s face repeatedly, not detecting a hint of fear, before they could confirm.

Here was a chef who wasn’t afraid of defeat!

"Come, have a taste—"

Saying so, Xingping Chuangzhen took out a pancake-like pastry that had been baked against the inner wall of a steaming hot stone cellar.

He packed it in a small bag and handed it to Lei Zhe, "Be careful, it’s hot!"

"Pancake?"

Lei Zhe didn’t refuse, looking at the golden, crispy baked pancake in the bag, and inexplicably felt an appetite surge. He took a bite and "pfft," scalding hot meat juice gushed into his mouth like a tide.

"Meat filling?"

Chewing, Lei Zhe said while munching, "This meat filling is marinated with black pepper, it’s very flavorful, plus there’s a lot of finely chopped scallions added for extra flavor, no wonder it tastes barely passable!"

"Hm?"

To his surprise, the more he chewed, the richer the flavor became, without diluting, but instead, more complex. Lei Zhe’s brows twitched slightly, revealing a small surprise, "Not only that, but the meat filling is also mixed with sesame oil, and some Chinese-style spices? That level of flavor, seems to be star anise, but what’s the combination of other spices?"

"It’s five-spice powder!"

Xingping Chuangzhen grinned, "This is an indispensable seasoning in many Chinese dishes! Though it seems ordinary, it is in fact a classic that has been passed down through generations!"

"How about it? The robust spiciness of black pepper, the meat juice overflowing inside the pancake... Has it captured your taste buds and your appetite by now?!"

Lei Ze didn’t answer, just finished eating the pepper pancake, then chuckled and shook his head.

"It is delicious, but if these flavors can’t make it into the diner’s mouth, if they can’t unlock the vault of taste buds on their tongue, it’s essentially meaningless, just scratching the itch through the boot!"

A comment full of derision.

"Is that so?"

The look of dejection, of defeat, flashed across his face briefly, but then Xingping Chuangzhen spoke with renewed spirit, "You Lin Chefs sure are tough customers!"

"Then, please just give me one moment—"

With that.

Snap!

Taking cold water and flour, Xingping Chuangzhen began to make handmade noodles. In less than ten minutes, he passed a bowl of spicy noodles to Lei Zhe, "Thanks for waiting!"

The crowd stirred.

The noodles, with the fresh shrimp and spring onion aroma mixed, burst forth, triggering the appetite of passersby.

"Is this Danzi noodles?" Lei Zhe didn’t make a move, just sniffed and commented, "Huh, turning the pancake into noodles, quite the improvisation, I give you a little credit for adaptability. But I’ve had Danzi noodles too many times; yours has no break-through or innovation, too ordinary, not worth eating!"

His expression darkened slightly.

"Too... ordinary?"

Xingping Chuangzhen removed the bowl, resting his chin on his hand, "How to pry open the appetite of a Lin Chef?"

"Or rather, make them involuntarily, open the taste buds on their tongue?"

Lei Zhe looked at him coolly for a few seconds, a barely concealed hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

Even from an oppositional stance, he admitted inwardly—

This student had guts!

But to make him immerse himself, enjoy the experience, was still far off the mark.

Turning to leave, Lei Zhe glanced northward, where the Tiqie Mansion was located, "The ’School Festival’ is akin to Far Moon’s showcase... You must be getting restless, aren’t you?"

"Wait!"

Xingping Chuangzhen’s voice came from behind.

Lei Zhe hesitated in his step.

"I still have a third dish!" Xingping Chuangzhen didn’t beat around the bush, bent down, and from a secret compartment in his little trolley, took out a large plate of dumplings.

"Dumplings?"

The onlookers were disappointed, Lei Zhe shook his head about to step away, but then Xingping Chuangzhen moved a jar of sauce, pouring it over the large plate—

Boom!

Bright red sauce flowed out of the jar, cascading onto the plate.

At that moment, the air itself seemed to ignite with the rich aroma, the onlookers’ eyes widened, and their faces quickly flushed red from the heat, soon dripping with sweat.